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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


How a Database of the World's Knowledge Shapes Google's Future
From ACM Opinion

How a Database of the World's Knowledge Shapes Google's Future

For all its success, Google's famous Page Rank algorithm has never understood a word of the billions of Web pages it has directed people to over the years.

Should <i>Everybody</i> Learn to Code?
From Communications of the ACM

Should Everybody Learn to Code?

Not everyone needs coding skills, but learning how to think like a programmer can be useful in many disciplines.

The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built
From ACM News

The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built

Last year, Edward Snowden turned over to the Guardian, a British newspaper, some 58,000 classified U.S. government documents.

One Day an Elevator Might Ask—are You Getting On?
From ACM News

One Day an Elevator Might Ask—are You Getting On?

Microsoft researchers have enabled elevators in a company building to detect the likelihood that a person walking by will want to board it.

The White House Is Going to Study Big Data. Here Are 5 Things It Should Know
From ACM Opinion

The White House Is Going to Study Big Data. Here Are 5 Things It Should Know

The White House announced via blog post on Thursday that it's forming working group focused on understanding the promises and pitfalls of big data (with a heavy...

Bitcoins and Virtual Currency: How Do Businesses Cope?
From ACM News

Bitcoins and Virtual Currency: How Do Businesses Cope?

Bitcoin speculators have made millions of pounds in the last few months as the value of the Internet-based virtual currency has exploded.

Fbi Warns Retailers to Expect More Credit Card Breaches
From ACM News

Fbi Warns Retailers to Expect More Credit Card Breaches

The FBI has warned U.S. retailers to prepare for more cyber attacks after discovering about 20 hacking cases in the past year that involved the same kind of malicious...

Scientists Detect 'spoiled Onions' Trying to Sabotage Tor Privacy Network
From ACM News

Scientists Detect 'spoiled Onions' Trying to Sabotage Tor Privacy Network

Computer scientists have identified almost two dozen computers that were actively working to sabotage the Tor privacy network by carrying out attacks that can degrade...

Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet
From ACM News

Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet

Scientists using the Herschel space observatory have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt,...

­kraine Tracks Protesters Through Cellphones
From ACM News

­kraine Tracks Protesters Through Cellphones

The Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cellphones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters early...

From ACM News

Google's Quantum Computer Flunks Landmark Speed Test

Google's quantum revolution is still in the slow lane.

Laser Looks ­nder the Surface of Art
From ACM News

Laser Looks ­nder the Surface of Art

Chemists have unveiled a technique that can get under the skin of paintings to provide a three-dimensional analysis of the old masters' works without causing any...

Seeing Things: A New Transparent Display System Could Provide Heads-up Data
From ACM News

Seeing Things: A New Transparent Display System Could Provide Heads-up Data

Transparent displays have a variety of potential applications—such as the ability to see navigation or dashboard information while looking through the windshield...

Why Bitcoin Matters
From ACM Opinion

Why Bitcoin Matters

A mysterious new technology emerges, seemingly out of nowhere, but actually the result of two decades of intense research and development by nearly anonymous researchers...

Target Got Hacked Hard in 2005. Here's Why They Let It Happen Again
From ACM News

Target Got Hacked Hard in 2005. Here's Why They Let It Happen Again

A gang of shadowy hackers tears through the systems of big-box retailers, making off with millions of credit and debit card numbers in a matter of weeks and generating...

Seals Are Scientists' Little Helpers For Collecting Ocean Data
From ACM News

Seals Are Scientists' Little Helpers For Collecting Ocean Data

In recruiting a research team, some scientists would do well to include a few seals. Over the past ten years, around 350 of these blubbery mammals—mostly elephant...

Amazon Wants to Ship Your Package Before You Buy It
From ACM News

Amazon Wants to Ship Your Package Before You Buy It

Amazon.com knows you so well it wants to ship your next package before you order it.

Esa's 'sleeping Beauty' Wakes ­p from Deep Space Hibernation
From ACM News

Esa's 'sleeping Beauty' Wakes ­p from Deep Space Hibernation

It was a fairy-tale ending to a tense chapter in the story of the Rosetta space mission this evening as ESA heard from its distant spacecraft for the first time...

Public Remains 'All Over the Map' on NSA Tactics
From ACM News

Public Remains 'All Over the Map' on NSA Tactics

President Barack Obama isn't the only one struggling to balance national security and civil liberties with the country's post-Sept. 11 surveillance programs.

Marvin Minsky Honored For Lifetime Achievements in Artificial Intelligence
From ACM News

Marvin Minsky Honored For Lifetime Achievements in Artificial Intelligence

MIT Media Lab professor emeritus Marvin Minsky, 86, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, has won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award...
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